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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500267">“...29, 30, 31, 32...”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sav_56/pseuds/Sav_56'>Sav_56</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fence (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Crushes, Drabble, M/M, Training</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:42:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>657</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500267</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sav_56/pseuds/Sav_56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seiji helps Nicholas a little...</p><p>•</p><p>Read in <a href="https://mysilverwords.tumblr.com/post/629449670247268352/nicholas-seiji-fence-one">tumblr</a>!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nicholas Cox/Seiji Katayama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>“...29, 30, 31, 32...”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's set at the end of Fence: Rivals, just to know.  </p><p>    But honestly, I don't know how to call this. Drabble? It super short but it comes straight from my heart. I hope you enjoy it 💙</p><p>(I know the title sucks, it's just the first line from the fic, I'm really bad at this)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“...29, 30, 31, 32...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas Cox missed the ball.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“1, 2, 3, 4…“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji Katayama was watching him for a few minutes already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something about Zero that was making him… baffled. Watching him now, Seiji thought (again) he missed something. It was frustrating how much Zero reminded him of Jesse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were nothing alike. In fact, they're each other opposites. Jesse was the golden boy. He was trained from the best to become the best. And Nicholas? He was just another amateur who thinks he can become good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But this familiarness of their moves… Seiji frowned. It was ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...3, 4, 5…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He approached Nicholas. He had no idea why, for god's sake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, hey, I just…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji interrupted him immediately.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> tense your shoulder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Relax</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why didn't Zero listen to what he was saying? He put hands on his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Uh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, what are you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, don't turn sideways. Like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji didn't allow him to turn. Instead he made him look directly at the ball in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you… </span>
  <em>
    <span>helping</span>
  </em>
  <span> me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> if I am?” Zero could be so annoying sometimes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don't usually, um,” his neck was red. “Is this.. is this your way of showing that we're friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji squeezed his shoulders harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just got tired of looking at your bad techniques constantly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji didn't have </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He had rivals. And if Nicholas claimed to be one of them, he had to work for it. This was all. Nothing more. Absolutely nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax. Softer elbow. Hitting is just the smallest motion. Can you feel it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah it's… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that's better</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good, Seiji thought. Maybe there was still a chance for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just didn't understand why Nicholas' face was so red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>•</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since that day, Seiji has been helping Nicholas. It wasn't every day but enough often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas didn't know what was happening. He couldn't believe</span>
  <em>
    <span> Seiji Katayama</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the asshole who thought he was better than everyone else, was helping him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes he wondered if this was a good thing at all. He was exhausted after their training together but in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> way. What was worse - Nicholas </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. Seiji was absolutely ruthless. He pushed Nicholas beyond his limits, he was making him angry and frustrated and confused, he made him want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight</span>
  </em>
  <span> even more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes Nicholas thought that he was actually friends with him and his heart missed a beat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was it possible all this to happen to </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Nicholas Cox? Was it possible that he was at King Row, that he was in the fence team? That he's roommates with Seiji Katayama?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas only hoped he would never awake from this dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seiji was telling him all about his mistakes without hesitation. Nicholas didn't expect any praises from him. Like, not ever. Seiji wasn't good at this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>At all. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Nicholas was happy just to train with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One time, there was… this day. This terrible day. The day before Christmas, when everyone was going home to be with their families. Expect Nicholas and a few other students. Seiji was going home too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas wasn't feeling like himself. He just wanted to be alone and to don't think about his mother and father and Jesse… He slammed the door on his locker. He was in the dressing room, right after his training with Seiji. Seiji was there too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas murmured some excuse and continued to dress. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, Zero,” behind his back, Seiji spoke. “You weren't that bad today,” he paused. “I think you have improved.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas felt like someone hit him with rainbows. He turned fast to Seiji but he was already leaving the dressing room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nicholas' heart was beating fast. He couldn't stop his smile. He couldn't believe how </span>
  <em>
    <span>ridiculously</span>
  </em>
  <span> happy he felt hearing these words. He even chuckled. He had a strange feeling in his stomach, like he ate a flock of butterflies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day wasn't so terrible after all. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Do they have Christmas vacations? Do they celebrate Christmas? Can they stay at school at such time? Do they even have dressing room at King Row? I don't know but I wanted to do it this way 🤧</p></blockquote></div></div>
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